210,000 Social Grant Beneficiaries Flagged for Not Disclosing Income

SASSA has identified 210,000 grant beneficiaries who are may not be disclosing all their income.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is cracking down on social grant beneficiaries who may be receiving income that they have not disclosed to SASSA.

In a statement on Tuesday, SASSA said that about 210,000 people have been identified through credit bureau checks.

SASSA said it was acting in terms of the Social Assistance Act, which requires beneficiaries to declare all sources of income when applying for a grant and to report any changes after the grant has been approved.

“Failure to comply with these requirements constitutes a violation of the Act and may result in corrective action,” SASSA said.

The affected beneficiaries will not receive grant payments in June’s payment cycle, which starts on Tuesday 3 June. They will have 30 days to visit their nearest SASSA office for a review.

“Beneficiaries who fail to comply with this process risk having their grants suspended. Continued non-compliance may lead to the permanent lapsing of their grants,” the agency warned.

SASSA urged grant recipients to disclose any alternative sources of income and undeclared bank accounts. Those still using green bar-coded ID books were urged to upgrade to smart ID cards because of the “increased risk of fraud associated with the older ID format.”

The crackdown follows new conditions introduced by the National Treasury for the management of social grants, including monthly income checks using banks and government databases.

SASSA spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi has said the agency has already started implementing Treasury’s conditions and will roll them out in phases, “balancing them with resources in our local offices across the country.”

During an April briefing to Parliament, SASSA said these new checks would apply not only to the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant but also to the child support, old age, disability and care dependency grants. The agency will now run mandatory cross-checks with departments like Home Affairs and Correctional Services, as well as the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

SASSA also began biometric verification earlier this month for grant beneficiaries without standard South African ID numbers. These checks are expected to intensify.

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